Folding railway-velocipede.



N0. 704,672. Paented'luly l5, |902.

Y H. BARRY.

FOLDING RAILWAY VELCIPEDE.

(Application filed Sept. 25, 1901-.)

' (No Model.)

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UNED STATES PATENT FFICE.

H ENRY BARRY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

A FOLDING RAILWAY-VELOCIPEDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 704,672, dated July 15, 1902. Application filed September 25, 1901. Serial No. 76,473. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known thatI, HENRY BARRY, acitizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have inventeda new and useful Folding Railway-Veloci'pede, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates to railway-velocipedes, and is designed to provide an improved device of this character which is light, strong, and durable and also capable of being folded into compact form, so that it may be conveniently carried upon a railway-train and also readily set up on the track for use in emergencies-for instance, to run back or ahead of a wrecked train to secure aid and to signal approaching trains.

It is furthermore designed to provide simple and eifective'operating means for engagement with one of the rails of a track to force the velocipede at a high rate of speed along the track without the aid of complicated gearing.

lVith these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying' drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. y

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a railway-velocipede constructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention and set up in position for use. Fig.

- 2 is a plan View of the device when folded.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevationof the device, parts being broken away to illustrate an adjustment thereof. Fig. et is a detail perspective view to show the foldable connection between Similar characters of reference designate:

corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,l' designates a substantially horizontal base or i platform which is substantially as long as the wid th of an ordinary railway-track and is provided at one end with aiianged wheel 2 to run upon one of the rails 3 of a track. At the 0pposite end of the platform there is provided an upright or standard 4, which is connected to the platform by means of a hinge 5, so that the standard may be folded down longitudinally upon the top of the platform, as indicatedV in dotted lines in Fig. 3 and also in full lines of Fig. 2 of the drawings. The hinged ends of the platform and standard are provided with corresponding projections and recesses, as best indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings, whereby the projections are adapted to fit into the corresponding recesses when the standard is set up, thereby to prevent the standard from swinging outwardly beyond a vertical position. The standard end of the platform is supported upon a pair of grooved wheels 6, each ofwhich has a hanger 7 that is'received within a socket or recess 8, formed in the lower portion of the outer side ofthe standard 4. Thesehangers are pivoted intermediate of their ends tothestandard, as indicated at 9, so that when the lower ends of the hangers are spread to place the wheels 6 upon the track the upper ends of the hangers are abutted, so as to obviate further separation of the wheels. Moreover, the upper portion of the socket or recess 8 is reduced in width, so as to form opposite shoulders-110, the lower ends of which are beveled to correspond to the inclination of the respective hangers, and thereby form stop-shoulders to brace the hangers when the device is placed upona railway-track. The hangers are pivotally connected to the standard in order that they may be folded inwardly toward each other, as indicated in Fig. 2, when the device is in its folded position.

For the operation of the device there is provided an upwardly and forwardly movable push-rod 1l, which is located upon the outer side of the standard 4 and is provided adjacent to its upper 'end with `a longitudinal slot 12 for the reception of' a stud or projection 13, carried by-the standard, whereby the rod is pivotally mounted and is also capable of endwise movement in opposite directions. A substantially horizontal link let has its rear end pivotally connected to the outer side of ward end ispivotally connected to the upper end of the push-rod, as indicated at 16, there being an upstanding handle 17 connected to the upper end of the push-rod by means of the mutually pivotal connection 16. The lower end of this push-rod is provided with a segmental shoe 18, which is pivoted substantially concentrically to the rod, as at 19, and has its under face recessed to form opposite flanges 20 to lie at opposite sides of the adjacent rail, there being a rubber or other suitable friction-block 21 securely held within the shoe and designed for frictional engagement with the tread of the track.

At the upper end of the standard there is 'provided a forked arm-rest 22, the shank of which is connected to the standard by means of bolts or. other fastenings 23, the standard being provided with a vertical series of perforations 24 for the detachable reception of the fastenings 23, whereby the arm-rest may be vertically adjusted. A iiexible strip or belt 25 has its opposite ends connected to the respective forked members of the arm-rest, so as to form a concave seat to pass beneath the arm of the operator, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

In using the device it is taken from the train and placed upon the track with the standard 4 in an upright position, the operator standing on the platform 1 and resting against the standard, with the arm-support thereof snugly fitted under the arm-pit of the operator, the latter assuming an inclined p0- sition, whereby the standard and the operator mutually embrace each other. The operator grasps the handle 17 and works the same up and down, thereby moving the pushrod 1l in an endwise direction, so as to engage the shoe 18 with the track, and thereby force the velocipe in a forward direction.

Having thus described my'invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A railway velocipede, comprising a wheeled platform, a standard foldably connected to the platform, and operating means carried by the standard.

2. A railway velocipede, comprising a wheeled platform, a standard hinged to one end of the platform and capable of being folded downwardly thereupon, and operatin g means carried by the standard.

3. A railway-velocipede, comprising a platform having a wheel at one end, a standard foldably connected to the opposite end of the platform, supporting-wheels carried by the standard, and operatin g means mounted upon the standard.

4. A railway-velocipede, comprising a platform, asupporting-wheel at one end thereof, a standard foldably connected to the opposite end of the platform, oppositely-inclined hangers pivotally connected to the standard, supporting-wheels carried by the hangers, and operating means mounted upon the standard.

5. A railway-velocipede, comprising aplatforma supporting-wheel at one end thereof, a standard foldably connected to the opposite end of the platform, a pair of forwardly and rearwardly inclined wheel-hangers pivoted intermediate of their ends to the standard, the upper ends of the hangers being constructed tomutually abut when the velocipede is set up for use, supporting-wheels carried by the hangers, and operating means mounted upon the standard.

6. A railway velocipede, comprising a wheeled platform, a standard rising therefrom, operating means carried by the standard, and an arm-rest carried by the upper end of the standard.

7. A railway velocipede, comprising a wheeled platform, a standard rising there-l from, operating means carried by the standard, andaforked arm-support upon the upper end of the standard and having a strap or belt supported between the opposite members of the fork. y

8. A railway velocipede, comprising ya wheeled platform, a standard rising therefrom, operating means, and an adjustable arm-rest carried by the standard.

9. A device of the character described, having an intermediately-pivoted endwise-movable push-rod, a link pivotally connected to the upper portion of the rod and also pivotally supported independently thereof, and a vertically-reciprocating operating device pivotally connected to the upper end of the pushrod.

10. In a railway-velocipede, the combination with a wheeled platform, of a standard rising therefrom, an endwise-movable pushrod inclined downwardly and rearwardly across the standard and provided with a longitudinal slot, a pivot carried by the standard and fitting loosely in the slot of the push-rod, a link having its rear end pivotally connected to the standard and its forward end pivotally connected to the upper end of the push-rod,

and an upstanding handle pivotally connected to the push-rod at the point of connection thereof with the link.

11. In a railway-velocipede, the combina- IOO IOS

IIO

tion of a platform having a track-wheel at one end, a standard rising from the opposite end of the platform and hinged thereto, front and rear track-wheels carried by the stand- Witnesses:

Y JOHN HUMPHREYS, EDWARD CAREY. 

